Principal Investigator/Training Grant Director: Barbara Iglewski
The aim of this predoctoral training program is to provide the biomedical community with highly creative and productive molecular bacteriologists, virologists and mycologists interested in the pathogenesis of disease. This goal is mandated by the intellectual desires and career aspirations of the program's predoctoral trainees and by the health needs of the nation as specified in the recent report of the NIH Task Force on Microbiology. This goal will be achieved by having the students follow a highly visible and defined Pathogenesis Tract (core curriculum) set in the established interdepartmental graduate training milieu of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. The essential core environment will be fostered by: a faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching and research and committed to training in molecular microbial pathogenesis; active molecular pathogenesis research programs of trainees and their sponsors; structured lecture courses accompanied by literature review seminars; unique colloquia focused on various aspects of molecular pathogenesis and taught by expert visiting faculty; seminar courses in various aspects of microbial pathogenesis or immunology; various journal clubs and a catalytic number of trainees. Breadth of training in related fields will be accomplished by providing sufficient time and opportunities in the Pathogenesis tract for students to attend clinical microbiology and infectious disease conferences and to rotate through the clinical microbiology laboratories. Research opportunities in a wide variety of relevant problems within the purview of molecular microbial pathogenesis will be offered to trainees by an experienced, talented, and highly interactive primary training faculty. The overall program is strengthened in collaborations between both basic and clinical faculty.